Fusee cover

ABSTRACT

A fusee cover having a scratch mix adhered thereto. The cover is provided with a plurality of spaced parallel rows of spaced upstanding projections upon which is placed a plastic coating. The scratch mix is adhered to the plastic coating.

ilnited States atent 1191 [111 3,71,121 Miller June 26, 1973 FUSEE COVER 1,529,729 3/1925 Thompson 117/8 5] en Jo n A M ler, He rin 1" 3,648,615 3/1972 wllkaltls 102/37.8

[73] Assignee: Olin Corporation, New Haven,

' Conn. Primary ExaminerRa1ph Husack Attorney- Donald R. Motsko, l-l. Samuel Kieser et al. [22] F1led: Sept. 3, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 177,610

[57] ABSTRACT [52] U.S. Cl 102/373, 117/8, 117/72 [51] Int. Cl C06d l/l0 A fusee cover having a scratch mix adhered thereto. [58] Field 0! Search lO2/37.8, 37.52; The cover is provided with a plurality of spaced parallel 8 rows of spaced upstanding projections upon which is placed a plastic coating. The scratch mix is adhered to [56] References Cited the plastic coating.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,128,390 8/1938 Zerilli 117/8 6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENIEU JIINZS B75 DDUUDDUDUEID DUDUCIUCIUUUDUU l UUDUU UDUDUDDDD DUUUUDQUUUDUDU UDUDEIUDDDUUUQ I FIG JOHN A MILLER ATTORNEY FUSEE COVER This invention relates generally to the art of fusees and more particularly to a cap for a fusee which includes a scratch mix adhered thereto.

At the present time there is an attempt to provide fusee caps made from plastic which can be used to cover the end of the fusee. Such caps may include a sheath member having a scratch mix attached to its outer end wall. This scratch mix is used to ignite the igniting material contained within the fusee body and having a button extending therefrom. Various attempts have been'made in an effort to have this material adhere properly to the plastic material. However, it has been found that there has been problems when the fusee is ignited as severe frictional forces are present and the scratch mix breaks loose from the sheath. One solution to overcome the problem of adhering the scratch mix to the plastic is to provide a checkeredtype surface with finger-like projections on the end wall of the sheath before applying the scratch mix. This will provide the necessary amount of mechanical gripping. However, it has been found that a problem of afterburning of the scratch mix existed which resulted in a potential safety hazard. This was due to the scratch mix remaining in the extensive valleys of the grid pattern.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved fusee cap with a scratch mix thereon which overcomes the above deficiencies.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of adhering a scratch mix to a fusee cap.

These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent from reference to the following description of a preferred embodiment and to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of a fusee provided with a cap constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the sheath portion of the cap shown in FIG. 1, prior to the application of the scratch mix;

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view taken along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view similar to FIG. 3 but showing a second embodiment of the grid pattern.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 1, a fusee body 2 is shown which may comprise a cylindrical paper tube 4 closed at its rearward end by a plug 6. For the purposes of this description, the ignitable end of the fusee will be referred to as the forward end, and the opposite end referred to as the rearward end. The rearward end portion 8 of the tube 4 is folded over and crimped against the plug 6 which is simultaneously compressed in a direction parallel to the tube 4 to form a sturdy watertight closure. The tube 4 is charged with an appropriate pyrotechnic composition 10, the composition of which is determined by the color of the light and smoke to be generated. The pyrotechnic composition is tamped in the tube 4, or otherwise compressed, to nearly fill the tube 4. A small cavity 12 is made in the upper end of the compressed pyrotechnic mixture 10, and the forward portion of the tube 4 is then bent to form an upper crimp 14 over the top of the pyrotechnic composition 10. A match head mixture 16 ofa conventional suitable composition is positioned within the cavity l2 and extends above the upper crimp 14 to serve as a match head and as a seal.

The upper portion of the fusee body 2 is fitted with a cap indicated generally by 18. The cap includes a sheath or cover 20 having a tubular body 21 and a forward end wall 22. An elongated post portion 24 extends radially outwardly from the outer surface of the tubular body 21. This post portion 24 is simply a fingerlike projection having a relatively small cross-section area and being more rigid in a direction in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the sheath 20 than in the direction parallel thereto. The internal surface of the tubular body 21 contains a circumferentially extending head 26 which serves to frictionally retain the sheath 20 on the fusee body 2 as well as seal the match head 16 and pyrotechnic composition 10 from moisture. The outer surface of the tubular body 21 is provided with a circumferentially extending locking rib 28 which is positioned forward of the post portion 24. A scratch mix 30 of any conventional suitable composition is attached to the outer surface of the end wall 22 in a manner to be described below.

The cap also includes a lid 34 which covers the forward end of the sheath 20. The lid includes a side wall 36 and an-end wall 38. The internal surface of the side wall 36 of the lid is provided with a circumferentially extending locking rib 40. Locking rib 40 cooperates with locking rib 28 on the sheath 20 to retain the lid 34 on the sheath 20. The lid 34 is also provided with a tab 41 adjacent the free end of the side wall 36 to facilitate the removal of the lid 34 from the sheath 20 to expose the scratch mix 30.

It is to be understood that the sheath 20, including its end wall 22 and integral post 24, is made from plastic, preferably polyethylene, in one piece by injection molding. Likewise, the lid 34 is also manufactured from plastic, preferably polyethylene, is one piece by injection molding.

As shown in FIG. 2, the top of end wall 22 of the sheath 20 is provided with a grid-like pattern formed by a plurality of projections 42 spaced apart in parallel rows. Each projection 42 should have a base measuring from 0.010 inch to 0.029 inch in depth and from 0.010 inch to 0.029 inch in width. The height of each projection 42 should be from 0.010 inch to about 0.029 inch. The projections 42 are in rows and separated by spaces 44 from 0.010 inch to 0.029 inch in width. In the preferred form, each projection 42 is 0.019 inch by 0.019 inch square and 0.019 inch high and the projections 42 are separated by spaces 44 0.019 inch in width.

The top 46 of each projection may be planar as shown in FIG. 3. In such case, the top 46 would have the same dimension as the base. As an alternative, the top of each projection may be rounded as indicated at 48 in FIG. 4. However, in this case, the dimensions of the base should still be within the limits set forth above. The grid pattern may be molded into sheath 20 by providing the mold in which the sheath 20 is made with the appropriate pattern.

A plastic coating 50 to which the particular scratch mix being used will adhere is provided on the end wall 22 of the sheath 20 so that it covers the projections 42 and extends into the spaces 44 therebetween. The coating 50 may be formed from such plastic resins as polystyrene, polyvinyl acetate, acrylate or any other plastic resin to which the binder in the scratch mix will adhere. The plastic resin may be applied by dissolving the resin in a suitable solvent in the amount of 5 to 20 percent solids by weight and coating the solution on the sheath 20 by spray gun, brush, daubs, roller, or the like. Upon drying, the solvent will evaporate leaving a plastic coating covering the grid-like pattern.

Upon drying of the plastic coating, the sheath 20 is provided with a coating of a scratch mix 30 over the plastic coating 50. The scratch mix 30 is preferably applied in slurry form and then dried.

According to the preferred form, the plastic coating 50 is applied by dissolving percent by weight polystyrene in methylene chloride and applying the solution to the grid by brush. Upon drying, the scratch mix, consisting of by weight:

Clear Lacquer 61.7%

Sec-Butyl Acetate 10.4%

Red Phosphorous 25.8%

Pumice Powder 2.1% is painted over the plastic coating and allowed to dry.

With the cap 18 positioned on the fusee body 2 in the manner shown in FIG. 1, the bead 26 will frictionally retain the sheath 20 on the fusee body 2 as well as protect the match head and fusee composition from moisture and damage. Likewise, by virtue of the locking ribs 28 and 40, the lid 34 is retained on the forward end of the sheath 20 to protect the scratch mix 30.

When it is desired to ignite the fusee body 2, the operator can easily remove the lid 34 to expose the scratch mix 30 by grasping the tab 41 to move the locking ribs out of engagement with each other. The sheath 20 can be removed from the fusee body 2 by grasping the side wall 38 thereof and pulling it relative to the fusee body 2 and slightly twisting.

With the sheath 20 removed from the fusee body 2 and the lid 34 removed from the sheath 20 both the scratch mix 30 and the match head 16 are exposed. The

fusee body 2 can then be ignited by scraping the scratch mix 30 across the match head 16. It has been found that with the present method of adhering the scratch mix to the plastic sheath, the scratch mix will stay in place under the severe frictional forces which occur during the igniting operation. In addition, the potential hazard of after-burning of the scratch mix is eliminated.

What is claimed is:

l. A plastic fusee cover adapted to be placed over the end of a fusee and which is provided with a scratch mix, said cover including a tubular side wall and an integral end wall, said end wall having a plurality of spaced parallel rows of spaced upstanding projections, a plastic coating cover said projections and extending into the spaces therebetween, and a scratch mix adhered to said plastic coating.

2. The cover of claim 1 wherein said projections have a base measuring from 0.010 inch to 0.029 inch in depth and from 0.010 inch to 0.029 inch in width, the height of said projections is from 0.010 inch to 0.029 inch, and the space between said projections is from 0.010 inch to 0.029 inch in width.

3. The cover of claim 2 wherein said projections have a base 0.019 inch in width and 0.019 inch in depth, a height of 0.019 inch, and are spaced apart 0.019 inch.

4. The cover of claim 2 wherein said plastic coating is selected from the group consisting of polystyrene, polyvinyl acetate and acrylate.

5. The cover of claim 2 wherein the top of each projection is planar and has the same dimension as the base.

6. The cover of claim 2 wherein the top of each projection is rounded. 

2. The cover of claim 1 wherein said projections have a base measuring from 0.010 inch to 0.029 inch in depth and from 0.010 inch to 0.029 inch in width, the height of said projections is from 0.010 inch to 0.029 inch, and the space between said projections is from 0.010 inch to 0.029 inch in width.
 3. The cover of claim 2 wherein said projections have a base 0.019 inch in width and 0.019 inch in depth, a height of 0.019 inch, and are spaced apart 0.019 inch.
 4. The cover of claim 2 wherein said plastic coating is selected from the group consisting of polystyrene, polyvinyl acetate and acrylate.
 5. The cover of claim 2 wherein the top of each projection is planar and has the same dimension as the base.
 6. The cover of claim 2 wherein the top of each projection is rounded. 